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Five cars in this group are longer than the Neon and three outweigh it, but this one moves like the big car of the bunch. The body rises and falls in long, slow motions on the suspension, and there's a sense of the prow lifting when the power comes on. There's also the feeling of intentional road isolation, not to the point of numbness, but you can tell that the engineers responsible for chassis tuning think big cars are better: this in contrast to the Toyota method, where the goal for the Prizm was nothing more than small-car refinement.

Unfortunately, the Neon can't match Toyota's finesse. The engine sets up lots of little tremors in the wheel, pedals, and mirror, even though the powerplant itself is relatively smooth-sounding until it approaches 6000 rpm. There was major wind noise around the driver's door, and road impacts boom through.

The big-car feel is reinforced by the cab-forward interior that pushes the windshield far forward. The seat is big-Detroit cushy, too much marshmallow for our tastes. Styling is a big part of this car, outside and in; generally, we like the fresh, spunky shapes, although sometimes they seem exaggerated -- take away the baseball-size shift knob, please.

In go power, the Neon falls a bit behind the lead pack -- a half-second slower to 60, for example -- but it feels peppy once you get used to the stiff throttle spring. The clutch strokes easily, the shifter is slick, and the brakes are firm, all qualities that earn high marks with us. We rated the Neon an eight for fun to drive, just one point behind our overall favorite.

For rear-seat riders, the Neon earns midpack ratings in both the space and comfort columns. The seat fabric is exceptionally grippy on the trousers, resisting the editorial butt's repeated attempts to squirm in and find a comfortable position.